35 young people, 3 days, a host of statelessness experts and all set against a backdrop of Belgian waffles and some exceptional sunny weather – reflections on the fun, work and fascination at the first ever Youth Congress on Statelessness.
This week, I was one of the Youth Ambassadors from across Europe who came together for the #StatelessKids Youth Congress in Brussels. This congress was an opportunity for me to engage with an issue I have been passionate about since meeting stateless children in Thailand several years ago. I was 21 at the time and girls there, of the same age, had never travelled outside their home town, they weren’t going to university and if they were working it was for long hours and exploitative pay. Our jarring lifestyles was an uncomfortable parallel for me. The next shock came when I realised this issue affects thousands of children and young people closer to home and all across Europe. When I think about how these people must feel I get strong sense of claustrophobia. Walls are closing in on people in the prime of their lives and we are all responsible for ameliorating this.
So there I was, in Maastricht University Campus Brussels, ready to understand what it is exactly that young people can do to improve the lives of our peers throughout the continent. The European Network on Statelessness launched the #StatelessKids campaign not only because childhood statelessness in Europe can be eradicated completely, but we have the power to do so within a generation. At a time when young people feel less and less empowered to achieve change (emphasis added as an Irish citizen living in the UK) knowing it is possible to positively impact the lives of thousands of people gives me massive hope.
The Congress was kicked off with Laura van Waas’ whistle-stop tour of the who, what, why and how of statelessness. Laura, who is Co-Director of the Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion, is ceaseless in her enthusiasm for communicating the intricacies and injustices of statelessness and teaches this in way that is easily understood by her audience. “If you have nationality you are the member of a club” she said, “the state is the club, it sets the rules for who is in and who is out”. This straightforward comparison lay the foundation for our campaign learning over the next three days.
Across the course of the Congress, ENS gave us the tools to engage the public and policy-makers on statelessness through varied approaches. Experts like Jyothi Kanics detailed how to develop a strategic plan through SMART goals. We put our media lens on with ENS’ own Jan Brulc and Asylum Aid’s Zoe Gardner, who explained precisely how to capture the imagination of our audience through film, press and social media.
Even when the coffee hadn’t quite yet kicked in, the facilitators found a way to spark our motivation. We split into teams for every activity, each time mingling with people from different countries, creating a great opportunity to learn more about differences and similarities in national approaches to ending statelessness. We flew up from our seats and out into the sunny garden to create a Vlog or an elevator pitch on why it was important to end statelessness. All the time, we were equipping ourselves to speak about a topic that is too often misrepresented as a complex legal issue. We were learning how to, in 90 seconds or less, explain statelessness and persuade our audience why it must end! The short videos produced by my fellow ambassadors are remarkable, seeing the enthusiasm that went into their work left me energised and excited about the change I feel I can make to end statelessness for children in Europe. This was one of the liveliest, most engaged and energetic conferences I’ve been to.
With much sadness the Congress came towards its end on Wednesday, but not before we had the chance to put our learning to action and lobby MEPs at the #StatelessKids event in the European Parliament. Anna Maria Corazaa Bildt MEP, who co-chaired the event, could be heard uttering ‘bravo’ throughout our presentations. Not least when, Mazen, Youth Ambassador for Cyprus, told us about his experience of statelessness. “It was too hard for me to understand it or handle it”, before handing over a petition with over 19,000 signatures.
Everything I learned and the confidence I gained from the experts and my peers at the Congress was realized when I met two Irish MEPs at the Parliament. They agreed with me that statelessness must end and offered their support to the campaign. Political will in the flesh is just what this campaign needs.
One definite collective objective is to raise awareness on the severity of childhood statelessness, so keep an eye out for upcoming events by your local Youth Ambassador. And please don’t be shy because we’re certainly not! Get involved, volunteer your time, and support the #StatelessKids Campaign. I’m sure I speak for all of the Youth Ambassadors when I convey my thanks to ENS for organising such a fantastic inspiring event.